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Sep 08, 2011

by English Muse

I love French decor magazines and this week I’m completely enthralled with the new issue of Côte Paris. This edition features the 6ème Arrondissement apartment of Charlotte de La Gràndiere, the owner of a furniture and clothing textile store called Rue Herold, near the Jardin du Palis Royal.

The beginning of the Côte Paris story is very Ludwig Bemelmans: “Behind a gate of the VI Arrondissement, high enough to let in the carriages, the paved courtyard of a mansion now houses the bikes of its tenants…” Charlotte de La Gràndiere noted that detail — and many others at the charming garden estate — when she was looking for her new home. Her second-floor corner of the building is tiny, only 30 m², but she’s creative and resourceful. Here’s a look at her place:

The apartment is very much like Charlotte’s beautiful store: White with accents of black and gray. Since she lacks closets, she’s clever about how she uses the space.

Her shoes are lined along a wall. Papers are stored high on a shelf in black boxes. I adore that wood chair, and of course that herringbone wood floor is magnificent.

Everything is color coordinated (toothbrushes included!) I love how she displays pieces of clothing. And her inspiration boards are treated as wall art.

A number of the walls are lined with shelves, housing books, trinkets and the sort of objects that give a place soul. I’m intrigued by the collection of mechanical mice. I would love to know the story behind them.

She’s used a canvas curtain to turn a hallway into a closet and she’s built shelves for her shoes, openly stored in cardboard archive boxes, each tagged and decorated with a black silhouette of a shoe. With the exception of her bedroom, the apartment is basically one large room.

I have a friend — also skilled at living in small places — who only buys furniture that can serve several purposes. Charlotte’s chaise lounge chairs could also be beds. Her dining room table serves as both a desk and a display surface for some of her books and magazines.

Love, love, love that mag too. I just might have to swing by the my local newstand, which just happens to be on the way to my daughter’s school.

Having lived in small apartments in New York and now a small house in L.A., sometimes I relate more to the small European spaces then the enviably humungous ones that are almost always featured in American decor. Also love Europeans mix of modern and antique.